In "The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix", Martin Gardner introduces us to this extraordinary man, Dr. Irving Joshua Matrix. Believed by many to be the greatest numerologist who ever lived, Dr. Matrix claims to be a reincarnation of Pythagoras. He was, however, completely unknown to the scientific community until Gardner wrote about him in "Scientific American" in 1960.
This compilation of essays and reviews, gathered posthumously from the New York Times Book Review and other publications, solidifies John Gardner’s legacy as a consummate teacher and controversial critic with a provocative sense of humor. Writing about his fellow craftsmen, John Gardner offers piercing insights into those whose works he admired and those whose works he didn’t.
While the use of intelligence tests is widespread, they are not without controversy. IQ supporters see IQ measures as valid predictors of academic success, capable of proving real differences in intellectual abilities and influencing educational policy. IQ critics such as Robert Sternberg and Howard Gardner believe that IQ is a limited measure of intelligence and that a truer picture should incorporate more cultural and contextual factors.
Martin Gardner begins Riddles with questions about splitting up polygons into prescribed shapes and he ends this book with an offer of a prize of $100 for the first person to send him a 3 x# magic square consisting of consecutive primes. Only Gardner could fit so many diverse and tantalizing problems into one book. This material was drawn from Gardner's column in Issac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. His riddles presented here incorporate the responses of his initial readers, along with additions suggested by the editors of this series.
In 1993, the first gathering for Gardner (G4G1) was held in Atlanta, where he was honored for all of his work in making mathematics interesting and entertaining. As befits a gathering of this type, many people wrote papers in the areas of magic, puzzles and mathematics to be presented at the conference. Those papers, plus a few that didn't make it into the official list, have been gathered together to make this book.
The papers are split into three categories: Personal Magic, Puzzlers and Mathemagics. While none were authored by the master, they all clearly bear his stylistic signature. The presentation is clear, entertaining and all reach the point quickly and effectively.
